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Saturday, July 26. 2014

Two of my greatest loves are photography and travel. Living in the Midwest means that one can drive in any direction and reach most of the country in twenty four hours or less. I have a special place in my heart for road trips, especially after reading William Least Heat Moon's classic, Blue Highways. In 2007, my partner and I took to the road and headed west to the Grand Canyon. Along the way we visited numerous National and State Parks, including Arches, Black Canyon, Bryce, Capitol Reefs, Zion and, of course, the north rim of the Grand Canyon. Armed with a point and shoot (Samsung L200) camera I documented our trip and the astounding public lands we encountered. Since that time we have traveled extensively between the West Coast and the Midwest making the full trip no less than 6 times.

During our years living in California I continued documenting the natural beauty found in every corner of that state. From the beautiful beaches of the Central and North Coast and coastal ranges, to remote Mendocino forests, the under-appreciated Kern Canyon, and the back roads east of Ojai.

As we learned how to live on the road we began to discover Bureau of Land Management owned land, National Forests and other publicly owned spaces that are extremely underutilized. We also began to learn that our nation's public lands are often quietly sold off to those whose self-interest are in conflict with what is best for the land and the Community of Life which inhabits those lands. As US Citizens these public lands are held in common and belong to all of us. Yet most of us may never exercise our rights to enjoy these spaces. Many of us do not even realize the treasure we share. How can we know to protect something we have never seen or experienced firsthand?

Quiet Wild is a project which is documenting these public lands and the Communities of Life which call these areas home. Through photography and videography, you will be able to see images of our public lands. The images alone should move you and stir a desire to protect these Communities so that when you hear that a corporation is bidding to inject toxic waste underground inside a National Park or BLM land, you will use your vote, voice, and dollar to stand against those whose destructive self interest threatens our shared resources.

If images are not enough, perhaps you will be moved by my first hand accounts of Quiet Wild journeys shared in blog form. Being inside these Communities of Life and sharing small moments with the inhabitants of our public lands inspires me deeply. Poetry, haiku, prose, and song all emerge from my experiences here. These are my offerings of gratitude for the country we live in and the lands which were purposefully set aside that we may ALL enjoy them equally.

Within this site you will find examples of my photography and writing. The goal of this site and the Quiet Wild project is to fund journeys into our public lands for the purpose of documenting the Communities of Life found in areas which are generally under-represented in tourist traffic and artist renderings. Initially a Kickstarter Campaign is the launching point for the first three journeys taking place in late Summer and early Autumn 2014. Additional journeys will be sourced in a sustainable way from the proceeds of previous journeys. Quiet Wild will include full size photographic installations, prints, and a photo book incorporating poetry and journal entries to express the essence of each Community of Life encountered.

Your contributions are vital to the success of the initial project! Please consider making a donation to the Kickstarter Campaign. There are really great donor incentives at every level, from public recognition to postcards to prints to having a say in one of the locations I will visit. Your support is deeply appreciated and I'm so grateful for your time and energy in reading this site.

Laura Young

Quiet Wild is a photojournalism project seeking to represent the Community of Life in the public lands of the United States. The project explores the back country and less visited areas of National Parks, State Parks, BLM land, US Forest Service land and other public land.

Photography, videography, journaling, poetry and multimedia presentations bring these under-represented areas into the public consciousness.

Raising awareness and documenting these valuable public resources is key to protecting lands which are often under threat of misuse from corporations and individuals putting profit and self interest ahead of practicing good stewardship.